in history's rear view mirror. >> washington, lincoln. reporter: every historian has a list of favorites. >> they had courage. and they had integrity. >> reporter: the presidents who were our greatest leaders and why. later on sunday morning. >> osgood: a presidential limosine it is not but a brand new version of a much belovedded sports car promised fast company for those with a taste of style and speed. lee cowan will be taking us for a test drive. >> reporter: some are describing chevy's new corvette as pure sex. the new sting ray is sleeker faster and has lines that have some already lining up to get one. >> you're the first outside person. >> am i really? to sit in one of these. reporter: the latest generation of an american icon later on sunday morning. >> osgood: warren buffet is something of an american icon

himself. multibillionaire who lives unpretentiously a long way from wall street. this morning rebecca jarvis will visit the age of omaha. >> must have been thinking about investments at the time. >> reporter: with a net worth of some $46 billion warren buffet is the most successful investor in history. >> i bought my first stock when i was 11. >> reporter: which is incredible. >> i would have bought it sooner but i didn't have the money. >> reporter: so when we met him in his hometown of home awe nebraska, we asked him the obvious question. do you have any stock tips for me? a sunday drive with warren buffet. ahead on sunday morning. >> osgood: behind the tv series downton abbey sounds the real genuine stately home in the english countryside with a history of its own. with martha teichner we'll be taking a look inside. >> reporter: for fans of pbs's downton abbey, it's easy to forget that it's all fictional

except for the house itself. tell me about this house. >> a beautiful library. iconic because it's much beloved by downton abbey fans. >> reporter: but this is the home of an actual family whose story is every bit as exciting as any tv drama. a private tour of the real downton abbey with a countess later this sunday morning. >> osgood: mo rocca will unearth some little known chapters of inauguration law. dean reynolds has the latest on the sports tale like none other. we'll say our farewells to dear abby and more. but first the headlines for this sunday morning the 20th of january, 2013. to begin we go straight to washington and bill plant. >> reporter: charlie, never mind that big swearing-in ceremony tomorrow at the capital followed by the luncheon and then the inaugural balls and the parade. the constitution says that the term of the president ends at noon on january 20.

and that's why the swearing-in ceremony that will take place here today at the white house is the official one. vice president joe biden has sworn in earlier this morning in his residence at the naval observatory. president obama begins this day at arlington national cemetery. he'll be joined by the vice president for a replaying ceremony honoring the nation's war dead. later chief justice john roberts will arrive at the white house. and at five minutes before noon here in the east, he will administer the oath of office to president obama. the president and vice president end their day at a candle light reception in the national building museum where both they and their spouses will speak. for sunday morning, this is bill plant at the white house. >> osgood: the four-day hostage stand off at an energy complex in the sahara has come to a bloody end. algerian forces stormed the as if yesterday killing all 32 of

the militants but at least 23 of the hostages also died. and two dozen bodies discovered this morning have yet to be identified. gun advocates turned out in the state capitals across the country yesterday. thousands of them took part in the "guns across america" rallies aimed at blocking president obama's package of gun control proposals. america's favorite pastime has lost two of its haul of fame greats. stan musial one much baseball's finest hitters who played for the st. louis cardinals for more than 20 years died last night at his missouri home. he was 92. and earlier yesterday we received word that 82-year-old earl weaver, the colorful long-time manager of the baltimore orioles died while on a caribbean cruise. in pro football, the winners of today's nfl conference championship games go on to play at the super bowl. the san francisco 49'ers face the atlanta falcons in the nfc. on the afc side the baltimore rains take on the new england

patriots right here on cbs. the ultimate crime-fighting machine. the bat mobile from the 1960s tv series batman went up for auction yesterday. the top bid was $4.2 million. the identity of the new owner is a secret. same as it was with bruce wayne. now the weather. the tale of two forecasts. cold and windy up north. sunny and mild down south. more of the same is expected during the week ahead along with some snow and rain. coming up... >> ask what you can do for your country. >> osgood: what does it take to be president? >> tear down this wall. do you have an i-pad? i do not have an

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for teachers to teach, and for a kid... nathan. tadpole. ... to feel like a kid again. because the world's biggest challenges deserve even bigger solutions. powerful answers. verizon. osgood: what we expect of our presidents, how successful any individual president has actually been is a matter of debate historically. as is the entire question of what constitutes great leadership in the first place. our sunday morning cover story is reported now by barry pederson. >> i'm not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience. (laughing). >> reporter: we laugh with them. we cry with them. >> they had their entire lives ahead of them. birthdays, graduations weddings

weddings. >> reporter: and with hollywood's help for movies like "the american president," we heap on them our greatest expectations. >> they want leadership. they're so thirsty for it they'll crawl through the december it for a mirage. when they discover there's no water they'll drink the sand. >> reporter: presidential leadership is college professor thomas cronin's specialty. he is struck by america's perhaps too perfect wish list for a president. >> it seems like an amalgam of wanting mother teresa, mandela rambo, the terminator and spiderman all wrapped into one. it's a pretty outlandish job description. >> you realize that he is the only one of the founding fathers who never owned a slave. >> reporter: david mccullough has written extensively on our greatest presidents. among them john adams. >> well, this is one of the many many letters of john adams.

this is the real thing. >> reporter: adams wrote to his wife abigail on his first night as president saying staying in what was then called the president's house. >> some lines from that letter were carved into the mantle piece in the state dining room at the white house at the wish of franklin roosevelt. "may none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof." and i love that because you notice he puts honest first ahead of wise. >> reporter: why? because honesty is essential. reporter: to mccullough, the great presidents shared a common set of qualities. >> they had courage. and they had integrity. and they had patience. and they had determination. >> reporter: determination like teddy roosvelt who knew the panama canal would be good for american commerce and defense.

helping american ships move from one ocean to the other. and he got americans to follow his vision. >> unprecedented for us to do anything like that beyond our own borders. tremendous cost. and a tremendous risk. but he then participated in decisions by going to panama to see things for himself. the first time a president ever left the country while in office. >> reporter: and the best lead not only with actions but with words. >> the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. >> one speech could change history. >> mr. gorbachev, tear down this wall. ( cheers and applause ) >> that the torch has been passed... >> all superb speakers who delivered moving speeches -- speeches that lift us to want to attain more and higher

achievement than we might believe we were capable of. that's leadership. >> ask what you can do for your country. >> presidents nixon ford, reagan >> reporter: john kennedy's words launched david gergen's career as an advisor to four presidents. >> i do believe that president obama has got to be the unifier in chief >> reporter: he would add another trait that defines the best: persuasion. like f.d.r.'s fire side chats in world war ii. >> my fellow americans... he told everybody before he gave a speech go out and buy a map of the pacific. while he was on the radio he said get out your maps. i want to talk to you about where we are >> i ask you to look at your maps again particularly at that portion of the pacific ocean lying west of hawaii. >> he talked about the various islands and where we had been. that's the role of a persuader is to bring the country along with him. >> reporter: but for president

barack obama on the eve of his second term, time may be running out. >> we re-elect a president for four more years but in truth he only gets about a year to 18 months before his effectiveness begins to fade and the jockeying for a successor. so that's about all the time he has to do those last big things that will define a legacy. for this president his second term agenda means not just winning over the country... >> most people who know me know i'm a pretty frenly guy. >> reporter: ... but also his opponents. the first president who understood inside the belt way persuasion was thomas jefferson who faced politics as polarized as any today. >> he believed, i think rightly that it is harder to say no to someone when you know them >> reporter: john meacham's latest book is thomas jefferson the art of power.

>> the lesson for president obama from thomas jefferson is to use the dinner table. just bring people around. come to the president's house >> reporter: you mean literally have dinner >> yes literally reporter: like sit and chat that's what jefferson did. every night congress was in session. i wouldn't want to have dinner with members of congress every night but i didn't run for the job. he did. >> reporter: david gergen offers another suggestion about socializing for political gain >> and the first nearly four years of his presidency, barack obama played i think 104 rounds of golf. he played with one democrat the entire time. and with one republican john boehner. that was it. there were 102 opportunities to play with other members of congress, build up relationships. >> reporter: at the start of his first term, president obama invited historians including david mccullough to the white house. looking for guidance from past presidents. >> washington, adams lincoln

reporter: but mr. obama may be surprised at one a digs to the list whom mccullough now considers one of the greatest. >> and gerald ford reporter: gerald ford? ferld ford reporter: why? because gerald ford was a very good president. >> reporter: of all the presidents that you could have mentioned, gerald ford would never... >> because he seemed ordinary reporter: ... come to my mind he seemed ordinary to people reporter: but you say... i think gerald ford is one of the most interesting stories in the whole history of the presidency. he made one of the bravest decisions of any of the presidents. >> i shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow >> reporter: from one of the worst moments in presidential history... >> i gerald r. ford reporter: ... came one that many now consider the finest. >> a full, free and absolute pardon unto richard nixon >> an act of political courage that truly healed the country.

>> reporter: david gergen, an advisor to president ford, says ford knew it could cost him re-election. >> ford had the shortest presidency in the 20th century. i think in the rear-view mirror of history it looks better and better >> reporter: there never seems to be a shortage of those who want to lead us. >> follow me. follow me. we're going to climb that mountain. that's the kind of leader we want. >> reporter: few make it. fewer still shape history. >> we choose to go to the moon reporter: the best of them not because they are easy but because they are hard. >> reporter: the best of them are the ones who bring out the best in us. >> osgood: next, audrey hepburn and that black dress.

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[ male announcer ] when you're going the distance it's nice to have the experience and commitment to go along with you. aarp medicare supplement insurance plans, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. keep dreaming. keep doing. go long. >> osgood: and now a page from our sunday morning almanac. january 20, 1993. 20 years ago today. the day movie fans lost a beloved star and children around the world lost a devoted champion. for that was the day audrey hepburn died of cancer at the age of 63. born in brussels in 1929, she

was saved from starvation at world war ii's end by the united nations relief and rehabilitation administration. she studied ballet in holland and won minor stage and film roles in england before landing on broadway in the play "gigi" in 1951. from there it was on to hollywood. she costarred with gregory peck in the film roman holiday for which she won an aadd me award. she earned lasting fame for herself and her classic black dress as go lighty in the 1961 classic breakfast at tiffany's. >> i never could do that. it's easy. >> reporter: she played opposite cary grant. in the 1963 movie charade. >> now what are you doing? cutting it off. who told you to do that? you did. i'm not complaining.

reporter: in 1964, she playedy lies a doo little in the film version of my fair lady. ♪ wouldn't it be loverly? ♪ >> reporter: and low singer marni nixon dubbed the songs she did try to sing it herself as you can hear in this rare footage. ♪ wouldn't it be loverly? ♪ >> reporter: after the birth of her sons audrey hepburn wound down her acting career and later became an ambassador for unicef, the united nations children's fund, her way of giving back for the help she once received. >> mahatma gandhi once said wars cannot be won with bullets but only with bleeding hearts. and surely caring is better than killing. >> reporter: she made the first of eight missions to ethiopia in 1988. following her final overseas

unicef tour to somalia in the fall of 1992, audrey hepburn was diagnosed with inoperable cancer. talented and stylish and committed to the cause of children, audrey hepburn was deeply mourned upon her death and is deeply missed to this day. >> so tell me about this room. osgood: ahead... we tour the real downton abbey. we're sitting on a bunch of shale gas. there's natural gas under my town. it's a game changer. ♪ ♪ it means cleaner, cheaper american-made energy. but we've got to be careful how we get it. design the wells to be safe. thousands of jobs. use the most advanced technology to protect our water. billions in the economy. at chevron, if we can't do it right, we won't do it at all. we've got to

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>> osgood: season 3 of downton abbey, the tv series, got underway this month. the real downton abbey has survived many more seasons than that. with martha teichner we're all invited on a tour. >> reporter: downton abbey fans will recognize it instantly. so this is like the downton abbey picture with the dog in it. except in real life, the house is called high clear castle. tell me about this room. >> the beautiful library. iconic because it is much beloved by downton abbey fans >> reporter: instead of the fictional earl of grantham and his family, high clear's actual owners are the 8th earl and lady fiona and jordy to their

friends one of them who happens to be the creator of downton abbey. >> we needed a house that even to people to whom this way of life was totally strange they needed to understand why someone would take their life to the edge of the cliff in order to save this house >> i've sacrificed too much to downton to give in now. i refuse to be the failure, the earl who dropped the torch and let the flame go out. >> when we took it on, i think it was the time of the iraq war. this house like other houses rely on weddings and conferences and business in order to keep the revenue coming, to keep going. and the phones were quiet. >> reporter: the extraordinary house with its 50-plus bedrooms hadn't been lived in for more than 15 years. and it was in dire need of work when the 8th earl inherited it. >> so i thought if we're going to give our lives to it, then i'm going to try to bring it back >> reporter: back to the glory

days of grand english country houses at the beginning of the 20th century. those were some of the servants at high clear then. the good times were ending by the time downton abbey takes place. from 1912 on into 1920s in season 3. ♪ let me call you sweetheart ♪ >> so who have we here? a mixture of family, current and older. his wife probably shortly after they were married >> reporter: that would have been? >> the contemporary of the downton abbey family >> how could you? reporter: with apologies to downton abbey, the true story of the fifth earl and his wife elmina beats tv drama. the lady's recent book about them was a "new york times" best seller. >> she was beautifully dressed. loved the best clothes >> reporter: she was the

illegitimate daughter of the fabulously wealthy banker alfred de rothschild. she needed respectability as much as the 5th earl needed cash. to indulge his passions which included archeology and cars. >> he's one of the earliest drivers, fastest drivers. he kept turning the car over. he nearly dies at the time. she ended up from a wife also becoming a nurse >> reporter: during world war i, she turned high clear castle into a state-of-the-art hospital, not just the not the convalescent home downton abbey was in season 2 >> you've become quite a nurse since i last saw you. >> i know. this is the remnant of the thistle collection >> reporter: but it was the fifth earl thanks to elmina's money who would become world famous for bank rolling the excavations iny gyp's valley of the kings that led him along with archeologist howard carter

to discover the tomb of king tutemkhamen in november of 1922. this is what everybody thinks of when they think of king tut's tomb >> they do. it's a very or nate coffin >> reporter: a replica. but the rest of the artifacts displayed in the castle's old kitchens are real. >> we've got the whole series of when the thistle discovered her >> reporter: the earl didn't live to see his find. he was bitten by a mosquito and then nicked the bite shaving. it got infected. and he died on april 5 1923, in cairo. 1400 treasures from the fifth earl's collection of egyptian artifacts were sold to the metropolitan museum of art in new york. amazing? remember, that's just the generation of the family that mirrors the downton abbey years. >> that's actually the queen

which looks like the 1950s. >> reporter: they were visiting here? >> visiting here. my husband jordy the queen's godson >> reporter: there are clues everywhere. as to who the earls are and have been for centuries >> downton calls it the great hall on their filming schedule. >> reporter: it looks almost like a church >> it's wonderful isn't it? reporter: high clear castle was built in the 1840s completely surrounding a much earlier house >> actually behind this fireplace is a wonderful medieval fireplace >> reporter: the lady took us on a private tour of high clear. >> we have a wonderful painting of charles 1 painted in 1633 >> reporter: and an ancestor of the present earl displayed it so the king would see himself when he visited. now it looks down on many a

downton abbey dinner. >> nothing succeeds like success. >> reporter: in fact, dinner at high clear castle today wouldn't be so very different except there would be far fewer staff. and the table cloth there only to protect the table during shootings would be gone. and this setting, believe it or not, is considered informal. forming would mean even more silver and glass ware. who are the most famous people who have sat at this table? >> prime ministers have come and eaten here. some through the age as well. i suppose the royal family. you can't really do better than that. >> reporter: ill lustrious is the history of the place is, these days that's not what brings tourists by the bus load. 1200 of them a day high clear castle when the house is open to the public >> we came here to see downton abbey. >> reporter: but here's the

thing. >> if i ever look at this and finding it easy to lose my home, then i am putting on an act >> reporter: all the interest and the tribulations of fictional nobility trying to stay in their ancestral home is helping a real earl and countess preserve the legacy of theirs. >> osgood: a ride in a corvette is coming up. but just ahead the very first inauguration.

mmmmmm. a choice of 6 skillet entrees, each with an appetizer and dessert? whoa! no wonder they call it a complete meal. 3 courses, one diner price. complete skillet meals starting at $8.99. only at denny's. snairlings remember the inauguration. the president and vice president were at arlington national cemetery this morning. he laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknowns before returning to the white house for mr. obama's swearing-in ceremony. mo rocca will be looking at the inauguration ways and history throughout the morning beginning at the beginning. >> reporter: new york city april 30, 1789.

the inaugural inaugural. george washington places his hand on a bible and takes the oath of office as the president of the united states. four future presidents would take the oath on that same bible. >> i dwight d. eisenhower jimmy carter do solemnly swear >> i george herbert walker bush reporter: today you can see that bible at federal hall in new york city, the site of that first swearing-in. to think that his hand touched that. >> yes and not only that, his lips actually kissed the pages in that book >> reporter: national park service ranger ed pinelle says this bible was actually an afterthought. >> everything is prepared for the event. soldiers were in their best uniform. the city officials were in place to receive him. they come to a point where they're about to give the oath. and there's no bible.

>> reporter: the nearest bible they could find from st. john's masonic lodge number one. yes, masonic as in free masons. a fraternal order known for charity, fellowship, and secrecy. 14 u.s. presidents were members including george washington. he's obviously held in particularly high esteem here. he's gold >> indeed. indeed. >> reporter: pierce vaughan is master of st. john's lodge which still owns that bible. he and two fellow masons carried the bible. it must always be escorted by three back to their lodge so that we could take a closer look. >> this is the page on which george washington placed his hand as he took the oath of office. >> reporter: you've opened this many times. each time do you imagine him putting his hand there? >> absolutely. reporter: vaughan doesn't believe the bible was some last-minute fill-in. >> we know that george washington was a very devout

man. it seems inconceivable that he wouldn't have thought of using a bible >> reporter: but why this bible? if they used a bible which was associated with any particular church or denomination, that church would immediately declare itself the official religion of the united states of america. >> reporter: the masonic bible in a sense transcended denomination >> exactly. reporter: the story goes that washington took the oath on a random page, but vaughan thinks washington intentionally selected a passage from genesis. jacob blessing his 12 sons. where jacob blesseth his sons >> yes reporter: as a father blesses his children. where the father of our country took the oath. >> exactly. that's why it just seems to be too much you know, to be a random act >> reporter: if the bible had been randomly opened, where would it likely have been opened

opened? >> here, the book of job. cheerful reading. >> reporter: yes, the book of job. you know, the one filled with disease, destruction and death. and that's not a very good foot to get off on. >> probably not. reporter: thankfully our new country fared much better and so did this bible. said to be present with washington at the ground-breaking of the u.s. capital and later at his funeral. >> in a way you could say it was on that book that the executive branch of government was created. [ kitt ] you know what's impressive? >> osgood: next, full speed ahead. a talking train. this ge locomotive can tell you exactly where it is, what it's carrying, while using less fuel. delivering whatever the world

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now 60 years later there's a new corvette on the block. now lee cowan has taken it for a spin. >> ignition, lift-off. reporter: when alan sheppard blasted off from cape canaveral in 1961, he left behind his other rocket ship. a chevy corvette. he owned a few of them over the years. several astronauts did in fact, images that forever links a corvette to real adrenaline junky >> it moves now to the test car garage >> reporter: but it was 1963 when the corvette turned into something truly special. the newly unveiled sting ray. >> a car worthy of its sports car designation. >> reporter: it became an instant class and still is today. now a half a century later chevy is taking a very bold lead. bringing the hallowed sting ray

back >> here comes the best corvette ever. >> reporter: unleashed in detroit last week, general motors is hoping the new sting ray will put america's oldest auto name plate back in the winner's circle. it's lower wider. it's faster. and it's got an attitude. >> it's like a fire-breathing monster. it looks like it. >> reporter: as the editor of automobile magazine, jeanne has seen corvettes come and go. but this time, she says, g.m. is sending a message. >> it still has the wherewithal to make a dream car. a two-seat sports car that costs a lot of money and delivers, i mean a huge whack of fun >> reporter: this huge whack of fun. >> that car is a huge whack of fun. what else is it? it's a two-seat car with a giant motor right between your legs.

duh! i'm out of here. >> reporter: its v-8 koranings out 450 horsepower. but it's hardly a gas guzzler. it can shut down half those cylinders for better fuel economy. and the interior now looks and feels much more like its european competitors >> pretty much anything that you can hear, feel or touch, you can pretty much customize it all >> reporter: this man is the corvette's chief engineer. and this is his baby. and it's the only one >> you're the first outside person >> reporter: am i really? to sit in one of these. reporter: so he was understandably a little nervous about taking us on its first ride. >> it just feels... i don't even know how to describe it. >> reporter: it will do 0 to 60 in less than four seconds. top speed: upwards of 190 miles an hour. >> there's no doubt in my mind

that we'll be fully competitive with pretty much any other car: porsche, ferrari, you name it. >> reporter: if you had one word to describe this new vet what do you think it would be? >> wow. reporter: tom peters is the head of corvette design in charge of sculpting the body to make it fast and functional. >> this probably might have taken as much creative energy as doing a whole body side. just this little curve through here >> reporter: not all corvette purists like the redesign. some mourning the loss of the signature round taillights others worried that it looks too much like a dodge viper. but an american sports car has rarely had an easy ride >> the high points... reporter: it was first unveiled at g.m.'s motor-rama in 1953. for $3500 you could take one home. double the price of other

chevies at the time. but that early vet was more show than go. says automotive historian >> it wasn't very fast. it wasn't very stable. and the roof leaked too by the way >> reporter: that corvette idea though had a champion. its legendary chief engineer. he persuaded chevy to replace standard in-line to v-8 instead and soon the corvette was tearing up the track. >> over the years he actually had a suspension transmission steering that really made it a real legitimate sports car in ininstead of just a fashion statement >> reporter: by the '60s, the corvette was a celebrity starring in its own tv show "route 66." and the sting ray even had a song. dead man's curve. ♪ i was... pulled up on the

right ♪ >> reporter: but then came the '70s. along with them unleaded fuel, the oil crisis and the national 5 miles an hour speed limit. by the '80s, sales were stuck in low gear and the corvette seemed to symbolize more mid life crisis than icon >> it was a slot car on the racetrack. on the road it was a farm implement. you know, it had terrible suspension. you literally drove it hit a pothole and banged your head on the headliner. >> reporter: still, the corvette survived. even through g.m. bankruptcy. >> it is such a shame for that car to be missing in america's culture. i mean i just think it's part of the dna of america >> reporter: rick should know. he's a chevy dealer. that's not all >> rick has got the best seat. eporter: he also owns hendrick motor sports one of the most winningest teams in nascar. did you race anything else besides a chevy?

>> never have. reporter: his passion for chevy has turned into, well, almost hording. so what does this have in it? wow. >> this is a 427. 390 horse. >> reporter: he owns one of the largest private corvette collections in the world. 150 in all. his favorite though was always the sting ray. and he's more than willing to share the love. >> i could drive this thing all day. >> reporter: what was it about corvettes for you though? >> a corvette was just the ultimate car. i mean, you had the styling the power, all the girls liked them. >> reporter: in fact, it was in a sting ray where he wooed his future wife. linda. >> she rode with me in that first corvette on our first date. it broke down >> reporter: what did she say? she wasn't very impressed.

reporter: most of what is in his collection is priceless. last nitric hendrick purchased the rights to get the very first new sting ray off the line >> i think this car will probably be one of the most sought-after cars that we've seen in a long time >> reporter: will the new sting ray live up to its pop culture royalty? well, that's between you the wheel, and the road. >> osgood: coming up... write a letter and get it out of your system. tell somebody >> osgood: advice from

it happened this week, the final curtain to the ultimate sister act. paul even phillips the long-time writer of the dear abby advice column died of alzheimers disease on wednesday about 10-and-a-half years after the death of her identical twin, a

long-time writer of the rival ann landers column. abigail for an old testament prophetess van buren for our 8th president. her responses to readers' problems quickly won her a following and a national syndication deal >> here i have this electric letter opener. you see that? >> reporter: by 1958 she was showing off her home office to edward r. murrow on cbs's person to person >> this is my office believe it or not. >> osgood: and reading off a sample of the sorts of questions she received every day. >> here's a letter from a teenager who wrote in care of the detroit times. she wants to know what to do about square appearance >> reporter: for all her humor abby took her readers' problems quite seriously even going so far as to call up letter writers who sounded suicidal and urging them to seek professional help. just knowing that she was there abby told ed murrow, could do troubled people a world of good

>> most people just want someone to listen to them. without moralizing or sermonizing or sitting in judgment. that's good therapy just to write a letter and get it out of your system. tell somebody. >> reporter: whatever abby's skills in solving other people's problems and diffusing other families' family feuds she had less luck calming the water with her sister ann landers. the rivalry was the stuff of legend. though the two eventually reconciled and even joked together in public >> what do you like to do when you're together? >> talk, talk, talk and eat reporter: since 2002 the dear abby column has been written by paul even phillips' daughter jeanne who said this week my mother leaves very big high heels to fill. paul even phillips abigail van buren was 94. mo rocca travels back in history. >> this has been call one of the

best preserved presidential sites in the country. >> osgood: next.

could tons steution mandates that the president is sworn in at noon on the 20th day of january. but nine men have assumed the nation's highest office with little or no advanced warning. >> from dallas, texas president kennedy died at 1:00 p.m. central standard time. >> reporter: lyndon johnson took the oath aboard air force one after the murder of president kennedy in dallas. johnson placed his hand on kennedy's catholic missile or prayer book perhaps mistaking it for a bible >> i do gerald r. ford to solemnly swear... >> reporter: and gerald ford was sworn in after richard nixon resigned in disgrace >> this is the village of plymouth notch >> reporter: of all these

unforeseen inaugurals the most picturesque has to be calvin coolidge's >> this has been called one of the best preserved presidential sites in the country >> reporter: william oversees the coolidge historic site in the tiny village of plymouth notch vermont our 30th president's hometown. >> this is the coolidge homestead from calvin lived from the time he was four and where he happened to be vice president when word came that warren harding the president had died. it all happened at 2:47 in the morning >> reporter: it all looks pretty much the way it did back on that very historic very early morning in 1923. >> we're walking into the sitting room and this is now known as the oath of office room. >> reporter: just like in this painting same table. same pen. the family bible. the notary stamp that made it official. even that paperweight? >> that was just a little thing that they had here in the house

>> reporter: was that here at the time? >> possibly. reporter: we don't know we're not sure reporter: was calvin coolidge's cats? electricity >> no electricity in the town. this all happened by the light of this lamp here >> reporter: this actual lamp ight eporter: the house had no telephone either. so? >> someone came down here by car, knocked on the door here and calvin's father answered it >> reporter: they said your son is president. >> basically reporter: we'll let calvin coolidge himself tell you what happened next. >> mr. president, what happened when your father woke you up to tell you president harding died? >> well, my father came up the stairs calling my name >> reporter: actually that's the calvin coolidge impersonator on videotape in the visitor center >> he had been the first to address me as president of the united states for president harding had died. >> reporter: the general store just across the street did have a telephone. >> this store was once operated by calvin's father.

>> reporter: as a boy coolidge had worked here. >> he built these counters along with his dad. >> reporter: they are beautiful combination of bird's eye maple and cherry >> reporter: i don't know we've had a lot of presidents who would be able to do this. but we digress. coolidge called down to washington to confirm the news. >> and the attorney general advised them to go ahead and administer the oath then and there. >> reporter: and so in the sitting room of his childhood home, calvin coolidge was sworn in as president of the united states by the town's notary public. who just happened to be his very own father. a simple, solemn ceremony. no pomp. no circumstance. and perfectly american. >> i bought my first stock when i was 11 >> osgood: ahead, a talk with warren buffet. ♪ ♪ reach one customer at a time?

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>> when i use my car, gas ain't cheap, you know. >> we think 25 cents a mile a pretty generous >> how about 27. when i make long distance calls will it be monitored or is it on the honor system >> it's sunday morning on cbs and here again is charles osgood >> osgood: that's no ordinary job applicant. that's warren buffet playing the part of one haggling over the terms of employment in the tv sitcom the office. in real life warren buffet is very much his own man as rebecca jarvis shows us in this sunday

profile. >> nice wheels. so how old is this caddy? >> five years or so reporter: you'd think the third richest man in the world might have his own chauffeur. but not warren buffet. he prefers being in the driver's seat. do any of your billionaire friends ever joke with you about the cadillac and that you're driving it and not something flashier? >> no, they know me pretty well reporter: on a cold winter morning, buffet chauffeured me around his hometown omaha nebraska pointing out all the hot spots >> this is the macdonald's i go to frequently >> reporter: what do you have at macdonald's? >> three times out of four i get a sausage mcmuffin but then at lunchtime i get a quarter pounder and fries >> reporter: a modest meal for a man worth some $46 billion. his humble tastes have humble origins.

>> it was a sears roebuck house. in those days they called it sears roebuck not seers >> reporter: buffet took us to his childhood home >> my dad bought it in 1925, about two weeks before he was going to get married. he paid $55 a month on his mortgage. >> reporter: $55? a month on the mortgage reporter: buffet since moved but says his new home is no palace either. >> i could buy any house in the world and i don't want any other house than the one i'm in. i'm happy in a pair of khakis and a sweater. i don't need fancy clothes or food >> reporter: do you have an i-pad? >> i do not have an i-pad reporter: i-phone? no reporter: he prefers books and reads avidly. even as a boy buffet whose father started a small stockbrokerage devoured anything he could find on money. >> i bought my first stock when i was 11 >> reporter: which is incredible. that at 11 years old you were buying your first stock >> i would have bought it sooner but i didn't have the money. it took me about five years to

save $120. >> reporter: that was in 1941. there i am down at the bottom here. i'm over here. that's bob russell >> reporter: you kind of have a little bit of a grin on your face. >> i must have been thinking about investments at the time. >> reporter: warren buffet now 82, has vowed to give his money away to charity. so this is you. >> well, this is me and my classmates >> reporter: it's a fortune he's been building since his days here at rose hill elementary school. when you were sitting here at rose hill elementary, did you think at that point "i want to be the richest man in the world some day?" >> no, but i thought i wanted to be rich >> reporter: what appealed to you about being rich? >> i like to be independent. i want to be able to do what i want to do every day. and money lets you do that. >> reporter: fortune magazine writer carol loom it is a close friend. she's been covering buffet's career for 46 years. tap dancing to work is a

collection of her articles about him. what would you say is his biggest strength? >> well, his biggest strength, without doubt is his rationality that he brings to business and investing. this is a trait rationality that you would think many investors would bring to their work. but the fact is most of them are swept up by emotion most of the time at some crucial time. he never does that. >> reporter: if you had invested $1,000 in buffet's company in, say, april of 1966, your holdings today would be worth $6.5 million. what role has luck played in your success? >> well, luck enters into everybody's life. >> reporter: and buffet says that begins at birth. >> the womb from which you emerge determines your fate to an enormous degree for most of the seven billion people in the world. just in my own case i was born

in 1930. i had two sisters that have every bit the intelligence i have. every bit the drive but they didn't have the same opportunities >> reporter: because you were a man? >> and i was white. so if i had been black my future would have been entire leap different. if i had been a female my life would have been entire leap different >> reporter: buffet is just as outspoken about economic inequality. in a 2011 "new york times" editorial he wrote "while the poor and middle class fight for us in afghanistan and while most americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks." >> i would say in a country with $50,000 of g.d.p. per person that nobody should be hungry. nobody should lack a good education. nobody should be worried about medical care. nobody should be worried about their old age. that doesn't mean looking for an equality results. i want you want the jobs to be working in those garages or bill

gates or you name it. you do not want anybody going hungry regularly or having medical care denied to them. just the basics of life >> reporter: what about our debt? $16.4 trillion >> the lower percentage of g.d.p. than it was when we came out of world war ii. you have to think of it in relation to g.d.p. it is not a good thing to have it going up. in relation to g.d.p. that should be stabilized. but the debt itself is not a problem. >> reporter: so what's the biggest problem facing president obama in his second term? >> i would say congress. we look at washington and you get discouraged. what is right about america? just totally dwarfs what's wrong about washington. 535 people are not going to mess up 315 million over time >> reporter: you believe that? i know it. reporter: to see the future buffet says all we need to do is remember our past >> if you really want to look at

the wonder of america, look about it. take it back in time 200 years. it wasn't there. so what's happened? we've had a system that's released the potential of human beings. but we will have hiccups along the way. we had a big hiccup when the housing bubble burst in 2008, but the dow jones average in the 20th century went from 66 to 11,497. we went through the great depression, world wars all kinds of things. this country just keeps chugging forward >> reporter: it's hard to walk away from warren buffet without feeling optimistic. it's even harder to sit across from him without wondering, do you have any stock tips for me? >> (laughing). just between you and me... >> reporter: it will be our little secret. but it's no secret that buffet puts his money in stocks >> the average person will not know enough to know which stocks to buy. they won't know enough to know

when to buy them. but they don't have to. because they can buy all of america through an index fund. then they just have to be sure they don't jump in at exactly the wrong time. they won't know exactly what is the wrong time. they should put their money in over a period of time. they'll have periods of wonderful and some that weren't so good. over all they'll do fine over time >> reporter: warren buffest has done better than fine. in fact, he's done well enough to have no regrets. >> it would be foolish for anybody with all the good luck i've had in life to look back and say this could have been better or that could have been better. it's been wonderful >> reporter: do you look back? not much. i think it's a big mistake to look back. >> osgood: next... the most beautiful girl i've ever met. >> osgood: in love online. and now is when the gulf gets even better.

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notre dame land backer manti te'o has broken the silence on the topic of his nonexistent on-line girlfriend. but we're still a long way from solving this mystery. here's dean reynolds. >> reporter: manti te'o is the linebacker who put the fight back in the irish leading himself and his team to national prominence this past season. and his efforts were burnished by a parallel narrative of pain and perseverance. fans rallied to support teo who disclosed that his grandmother and girlfriend had both died on the same day in september. as he told it, his girlfriend was a victim of not only a car accident but also leukemia >> the pain of the loss reporter: her death beings the end of a long-distance mostly on-line or over-the-phone romance. few, if anyone, thought it odd that the two had supposedly

never met in person. >> the most beautiful girl i've ever met. not because of her physical beauty but the beauty of her character and who she is. >> reporter: the news media were quick to consume the story. >> on the day his girlfriend was buried he knelt on the field to pray. >> reporter: but then came the national championship game on january 7. >> manti te'o and the rest of his defense unable to wrap him up >> reporter: he was awful in the loss to alabama. and we learned last week one possible reason. that leads us to dead spin, a sports blog which had done some checking on teo and his love story. jack dicky helped write the report which appears on wednesday. >> well, okay. 22-year-old stanford grad gets in a near-fatal car accident, contracts leukemia and then dies. that's a big tragedy. that's going to be written up

somewhere. it wasn't. there was no death notice. no obituary. no announcement of her funeral >> reporter: checking further dead spin found the photos of the girl were of someone else who was very much alive and unfamiliar with manti te'o around whom suspicion now swirled. i think it's highly unlikely that he was duped in the fashion he says he was. >> how many of you here tonight with with your imaginary girlfriends ♪er dame tried to explain. athletic director jack said the triumph over tragedy narrative began to unravel when teo was called on december 6 by someone who said the girl not only had not died but had actually never existed. but here's the thing. teo did not tell notre dame for 20 more days. and he continued to speak publicly of a girlfriend who died.

>> i don't like cancer at all. i lost my grandparents and girlfriend to cancer >> reporter: he says now he was confused. notre dame was chagrined. >> this was a very elaborate very sophisticated hoax perpetrated for reasons we can't fully understand but had a certain cruelty at its core. >> reporter: on wednesday teo released a statement that the whole episode was incredibly embarrassing. friday night he told espn some samoan man had confessed to pranking him. teo flatly denied he was in on some weird scam. but so far weird is the best word for this evolving story. one that was simply too good to be true.

>> osgood: next a salute to the losers.

>> tomorrow's presidential inauguration is all about the winner. but you can't have a winner without a loser. so here's to history's presidential losers. some of whom weren't losers at all. arizona senator barry goldwater's uncompromising conservative politics spelled

defeat in the 1964 race against lyndon b. johnson. but goldwater ended up casting a very long shadow. call it winning by losing. today barry goldwater is remembered in phoenix with his own memorial park and by conservatives nationwide as a pioneer. >> well, he lost terribly but he didn't bite on his principles >> reporter: presidential historian douglas brinkley says while goldwater went down in flames he blazed a trail for a big winner. >> goldwater was the john the baptist figure for ronald reagan. the two of them together defined a modern american conservative >> i believe we are going to prevail. >> reporter: likewise, says brinkley 1972's democratic candidate george mcgovern, an opponent of the war in vietnam was ahead of his time. both candidates lost big. but today loom large. >> there is such thing as the goldwater-ite today. there is a mcgovern-ite

>> reporter: still? still. there's no such thing as a gerry ford or a jimmer carter democrat. >> reporter: there are losers who went on to do big things. not necessarily things that we all like. >> well, yes. i'm thinking of john w. davis >> reporter: davis, the losing 1924 democratic candidate went on to argue the landmark brown versus board of education suit, the one that desegregated schools. but davis argued against integration. >> here's the guy that thinks that we still should have segregation. he doesn't go down well in history. >> reporter: some candidates were winners and losers. you know, there's always the inspiring grover cleveland model. wins and then loses and then wins again >> grove cleveland always messes it up for us presidential historians because we've got to do that double grover cleveland >> reporter: the benjamin harrison sandwich, right? >> right eporter: of course some losers are lucky if they're

remembered at all. michael dukakis gets remembered because his cousin olympia dukakis was in moonstruck >> what the hell happened to you and how not to look in a tank. if we ever find ourselves having to go in a tank you find yourself not wanting to look like dukakis >> reporter: i couldn't shouldn't try to sell the horatio seemore biography >> don't do it. reporter: the loss to grant. remembered or not each and everyone of these losers has played in a central part in our democracy. we didn't have losers we'd be north korea. >> without losers we become something george washington greatly feared. we become an autocratic society. >> reporter: the father of our country ran unopposed but after two terms set an important precedent. >> the genius of washington was that he stepped aside. he said, "i'm done. i'm going back to mount vernon."

he did it so gracefully, he taught other people how to be good losers or, to put it a better way how to step from power gracefully. you miss out on your life. you may have chronic migraine. go to mychronicmigraine.com to find a headache specialist. and don't live a maybe life. >> osgood: here's a look at the week ahead on our sunday morning calendar. on monday president obama takes the oath of office again. and delivers his inaugural address in a public ceremony on

the steps of the capitol. tuesday is election day in israel. all 120 seats in the nation's parliament on the line. on wednesday secretary of state hillary clinton goes to capitol hill to testify on the attack in benghazi libya that killed ambassador chris stevens and three other americans. on thursday, the senate foreign relations committee considers the nomination of senator john kerry to succeed secretary clinton. friday is the day secretary of the treasury timothy geithner steps down. and on saturday, the phantom of the opera mark its 25th anniversary on broadway with a gala performance. tomorrow's ceremonial presidential inauguration falls on a most auspicious day in the view of our contributor taf it smiley. >> reporter: barack hussein obama will be sworn in as president at the inauguration ceremony tomorrow for a second term on the holiday honoring the

person i have long regarded as the greatest american this nation has ever produced. obama will be in the foreground but martin luther king jr. is the back drop >> i have a dream that one day on the red hills of georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. i have a dream. >> reporter: i've heard people explain that president obama is the fulfillment of dr. king's dream. well not exactly. obama might be a good downpayment but he is not the full filthment of king's dream. we're still a long way away from that. the interrelated triple threat of poverty, mill tearism and racism that king talked about still looms large in a yet deeply divided america. in the spirit of m.l.k., it's time for president obama to deliver a major policy speech on the eradication of poverty in america. he ought to tell us how the richest nation in the history of the world is going to convert

the scourge of poverty. in the spirit of m.l.k., president obama should rethink the random use of his favorite weapon the unmanned aerial vehicle better known as drones which have killed too many innocent women and children. in the spirit of m.l.k., president obama should not continue to feel so boxed in by his blackness but feel liberated in a second term to find ways to push back on the most intractable issue in america: racism. the president wants to channel king so badly that he's decided to use dr. king's bible at the inauguration ceremony tomorrow. obama is a politician and a pretty good one. but king was a prophet. while i can appreciate the president's fascination with king's legacy of unarmed truth and unconditional love, i'm feeling some sort of way about king being used symbolically for a public pomp and circumstance but disregarded substantively when it comes to public policy. >> no, we are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like water

and righteousness like a mighty stream. >> reporter: our future as a nation depends on our seriously we take the legacy of dr. king. justice for all. service to others. and a love that liberates people. for all the dysfunction that our country is exhibiting at the moment dr. king reminds us that the time is always right to do right. we should never be afraid to do what's right especially if the well being of a person is at steak. society's punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way. >> osgood: commentary from taf it smiley. cbs news will, of course, keep you up to date on today's inaugural events and have full coverage of tomorrow's public ceremonies of the inaugural parade. right now we go to bob scheiffer in washington for a look at what's ahead now on face the nation. good morning bob. >> schieffer: good morning charles. we've got presidential aide david pluf, former secretary of state condoleezza rice and a

parade of officials past and present to talk about the inauguration. >> osgood: thank you bob scheiffer. we'll be watching. next week on sunday morning... aloha from hawaii. (female announcer) the kitchen table is where news is shared plans are made and decisions are decided. when it comes time to discuss insurance we'd like to be there for you. [laughing] (announcer) physicians mutual. insurance for all of us.

♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] how do you turn an entrepreneur's dream... ♪ ♪ into a scooter that talks to the cloud? ♪ ♪ or turn 30-million artifacts... ♪ ♪ into a high-tech masterpiece? ♪ ♪ whatever your business challenge, dell has the technology and services to help you solve it. >> sunday morning's moment of nature is sponsored by volunteers of america.

>> osgood: we leave you this inauguration sunday among the guysers at yellowstone america's first national park. >> osgood: i'm charles osgood. please join us again next sunday morning. until then i'll see you on the radio.

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the intimtate swearing in

ceremonies ahead of all the pomp and circumstance tomorrow. the president formally begins a second term of office today. the ceremony ahead of the pomp and circumstance tomorrow. and a beautiful sunday underway. and chilly changes by next weekend. we will have that as well. it's going to be a great show last week. the best running quarterback that ever played in one game. >> game day expectations from long-time 49er faithful. the san francisco is just one game away from the super bowl . >> very exciting. it's 7:30, thank you for joining us. >> we've got a lot of news. and talk to cover in the next hour. the real estate mark net california is bounding back big time. we will talk about where the buys are and how you might get in on deals. >> and also live in the studio this morning, the brand new oakland city council men, one of them is going to join us live to talk about the challenges they are facing and what is next for the